Tiny homes a better use of money than shelters

I am writing in regard to the recently published articles reporting that a $21 million project to house 43 to 50 homeless people is planned for an unused building near MarinHealth Medical Center close to Hal Brown Park in Greenbrae (“Proposal for new Marin Homekey site draws mixed reviews,” Nov. 7).

The cost per homeless person is between $420,000 and $488,000. There are many public servants — teachers, police and others — for whom a housing subsidy of that much money would make an enormous difference both to their lives and to the Marin community, if it enabled them to live among us near their work.

It’s true that homeless people need shelter. The county should look into building socalled “tiny houses.” These 64-square-foot cabins with 2-inch-thick walls, heat, a desk, a bed, a door that locks and a window, together with necessary support services, could be provided for less than $40,000 each. They could be placed in small villages with bathrooms, storage spaces and a dining area.

According to reports, San Francisco is constructing 44 tiny houses and providing a full range of services for a total cost of $1.7 million. Such an approach would allow the $21 million earmarked for the proposed shelter to go to needed services for more than 500 homeless people.

Surely there are disused parking lots in Marin where such tiny house villages could be located. The proposal to house a few homeless people in relative luxury and leave most sleeping outside is much worse than housing all of them in more Spartan accommodations. Let us work effectively to improve the lot of all those who need shelter.